Read Online Two Hearts for Christmast by Lisa Y. Watson - Free Book Online Page B

much sleep, and from the looks of you, that’s a condition that you both share.”
    “ It’s complicated,” Yvette started.
    Adelaide shuffled over to the kitchen table and sat down.  She faced her niece.  “Un-complicate it.”
    Yvette sighed.  She poured herself a cup of coffee, and then joined her aunt at the table.  She inhaled the aromatic fragrance and willed herself to feel more alert.
    “ Okay.  The short version is that Christopher has been working non-stop ever since he took over running the farm from his parents.  He’s back and forth, and sometimes spends the night at the farm.  Not to mention that work is getting in the way of our home life.  He missed Lacey’s play, Aunt Addie.  You can’t get something like that back,” she pointed out.  “And when he is here…he’s preoccupied sometimes.  I swear I feel like I’m a single parent Monday thru Friday.”  Yvette started to say more, but then stopped short.  She crinkled up her face.
    “ What?” her aunt asked.
    Yvette got up and went to the kitchen sink.  She dumped her coffee down the drain, ran water in the cup and rinsed out the sink, and then poured herself a glass of milk instead.  She came back and resumed her seat.
    “ What was that about?”
    “ Nothing.  I didn’t like the smell of the coffee.  It smelled…off.”
    Adelaide stared at her.  “What do you mean off?  I tried it, and it was the same as always.”
    Yvette shrugged.  “I don’t know, it just made my stomach churn.”
    “ I hope you aren’t coming down with whatever Robby’s got, but anyway… Back to our conversation.  What’s really bothering you?”
    “ I…what do you mean?  I just told you everything.  What else is there?”
    Her aunt sat back in her chair.  “I know what you said, but it’s what you’re not saying that I’m interested in hearing.  All this can’t be because Christopher works too hard.  A lot of people work too hard.  In this economy, it’s a given that people are going to work too hard to keep their jobs, and make ends meet.  Hell, I’d be worried if he wasn’t working hard.”
    “ Aunt,” Yvette said, in censure.  “Robby’s in the other room.”
    “ He can’t hear me; he’s watching his favorite show.  You know he’d tune out a fire alarm while his program’s on.  I don’t understand why you’re so stressed out about Christopher’s work schedule.  If you’re so concerned about it, have your nanny stay longer if she can, or hire one of the young girls in the neighborhood to be a mother’s helper a few times a week.”
    “ That’s not the same as having Christopher here,” Yvette countered.  “Sometimes I feel like…”
    “ Like what?” Adelaide pressed.
    “ Like he doesn’t even want to be here,” she finished.
    Her aunt stared at her in shock.  “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” she chided.  “You’re imagining things.”
    “ Am I?”
    “ Yes, you most certainly are,” her aunt said, warming to her cause.  “Christopher has worshipped Lacey since the first day you took her to his tree lot—and you even longer.  I could see in his eyes that there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the two of you—that’s still true.”
    “ What if it’s all too much for him?  He took on a readymade family and now we’ve increased it.  Plus we’re in a house that’s too small and trying to find a place that’s bigger, but we haven’t yet and—”
    “ Okay, hold your horses before you have an anxiety attack.  You’re working yourself into a tizzy for no good reason.  You’ve got a terrific man, Yvette.  One that loves you, your daughter, and the family that you’ve created together.  There is no way that man isn’t exactly where he wants to be.  And I’ll tell you, if you were talking that nonsense to me…I’d leave outta here and leave a note on the counter, too!”
    Without warning, Yvette started to cry.  She grabbed a napkin off